The Truth About Soapstone Stoves

My name is John Debar. In addition to 25 years in the hearth and chimney fields,
I have an extensive science background. Thermodynamics and materials science
are just two of dozens of science courses I passed in engineering college.

There is no merit to the claim that soapstone stoves are better at heating. Secondly, soapstone stoves are a poor choice for a number of reasons. First, let's expose the myth.

All stoves today have virtually the same wood fuel economy, that is,
they all are certified about 70% efficiency when tested new. Wrapping soapstone
around the stove does nothing to give you more heat. Instead, there is a negligible
shift in the heat. There is a delay in heating with a proportional delay
in cooling down. There is no net gain! In other words, the small amount of extra heat
that lingers was lost initially in a heating delay at startup.

Recent advances in steel stove technology make it vastly superior to cast iron!

Here's why:

Temperature Control: Cast iron stoves have 12 furnace cement seams that usually crumble over time and with over firing. Excess air leaks in, causing excessive heat and reduced burn time.

Air intake leaks cause the loss of firebox vacuum, stopping the flow of secondary combustion air. Potent smoke fuel now goes unburned. Efficiency and burn time reduce by 25 to 35%. Repairing these seams today cost more than the stove is worth. This results in a permanent reduction to half the performance. This is never the case with steel unibody stoves.

Instead of a 'stay clean' chimney, you now need an annual $100+ chimney cleaning, and can build up enough creosote in a month to start a chimney fire.

Many steel stoves come with shapely cast iron doors and legs. They also have rounded seamless corners, larger glass viewing areas, much thicker door gaskets and hinge pins, closer clearances without optional shielding, and do not crack and warp like cast iron stoves can. Take a close look at 'Country' stoves. They are a life time investment with attractive options. There is no finer stove made. They cost less than equally sized cast stoves. Fixing cast iron stove seams now cost more than the stove is worth, so a pricy cast iron stove may need to be replaced in just a couple years. For full details on new generation stoves, visit StoveGuide.net.